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Daniel Bentley

"The hospice to my son was his second home, all staff, doctors were fantastic. He was treated with the utmost respect and the cooks food in his words was unbelievable.

Dan first visited the hospice in May or June. By July he was terminal. He wasn't sure about the hospice at first and said it's for old people but after coaxing him to just have a look he was impressed but still hadn't made a decision about what was going to happen. He was seeing the Clinical Nurse Specialists so during this time they would have private conversations as he needed to talk to someone neutral. December came and Dan started to deteriorate and was admitted to The Christie for more scans. In the meantime he wanted to stay at home so we had his bed moved downstairs and all set up for his homecoming. But we had some absolutely devastating news that he now was paralysed from his waist down.

I went to visit him and he just came out and said 'I've decided to go into the hospice'. It was his choice and in hindsight a very sensible one. He came home to the hospice on 23rd December. I was so excited to see him has I hadn't seen him for a few days and he looked so well and rested. His room was fab and he was very impressed especially when his Xbox and 40 games arrived.

We put a little Christmas tree up too. Nothing we did to his room was a problem to the staff. We had Christmas dinner together which was lovely. He even got to bring his kitten in and also took over the lounge for a few hours with 11 friends playing Xbox and eating pizza. On the 3rd January the time came and he passed at 6.10 am. The staff on at the time where so compassionate and sensitive. Prior to his passing on the 2nd January all his friends came to the hospice to pay their last respects. To me and Dan the hospice will always be his second home."

Jeanette Bentley

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